ABSTRACT

In addition to consideration of unique properties of metal and dielectric materials, the radio frequency (RF) and microwave engineer must also make semiconductor choices based on how existing semiconductor properties address the unique requirements of RF and microwave systems. Although semiconductor materials are exploited in virtually all electronics applications today, the unique characteristics of RF and microwave signals requires that special attention be paid to specific properties of semiconductors which are often neglected or of second-order importance for other applications. Two critical issues to RF applications are (a) the speed of electrons in the semiconductor material and (b) the breakdown field of the semiconductor material.